St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-04-16

the future. He has also turned his mental
oscillations to the crop business. He pre-
diets disastrous year to all of the country
west OF the Missouri, giving plentiful crops
to Iowa. Illinois, and possibly Missouri,
Minnesota and Dakota are not in the bill of
fare for good crops. He has found that the
Atlantic high barometer is careering
westward and bOding i'll for what used to
be the meretriciouS pretensiOnS of long
range weather tiends. The best that
can be done, usually, is to fore
tell the direction and scope of
the low barometric pressureS which trend
uniformly in an eastward direction from
the Rocky mountains, where they originate.
In their wake all the rainfalls glide. They
bring the storms. The reports from the
signal stations daily enable the construction
OF weather maps by means of which predc-
tons are made as to storm centers. 1t is
difficult, even with these daily MAPS to pre-
diet the actual route which the low barOm-
eter Will pursue during the ensuing twenty
four hours. While its direction is always
eastward,
UNKNOWN CURRENTS
defect it either Southerly or northerly. 1t
may come east over Texas and the South
ern states, or it may take shoot north
ward and pass over the Middle states and
New England. On one occasion when low
barometer was in Texas at o'clock in the
evening the signal Office predicted rain for
Louisiana and Mississippi for the next day,
and fair weather for Chicago and the Lake
region. Yet at midnight that low barometer
struck some aerial obstruction and went
shooting up the Mississippi river. When
the papers came out in the morning, pre-
dieting fair weather for Chicago. there was
more than foot Of snow in that city,
while the rain predicted for the southern
states did not materialiZe, as it was clear
and warm down there. IF we could be so
badly misled within the space of a few
hours" said the signal officer, chow silly it
would be for us, or for any one with no
such aids as we have. to predict the
weather for months, or even weeks ahead.
Of course it seldom happens that such big
blunder is made; but, it does happen
There are more things in meteorology I'M
discovered than have yet been made plain
to science. And as for going into pre-
dictions as to what the skies ana earth will
combine to do, it strikes us as an immense
undertaking" There was an unusually hot
wave passing over Dakota in August last,
and it dried up all OF the crops, especially
in the North
LAST YEAR WAS A BAD YEAR
for the territory. Such things do not occur
twice in succession. A man might as well
predict grasshoppers. frogs. lice and all the
plaques of Egypt as to undertake to sweep
his majestic intellect all over the continent
and f0retell what the alluvial atoms are
about to do. or refuse TO do. 1t isn't mod
est in a scientist, but occasionally there
arises a Sir Isaac Newton, or a Huxley
Possibly the Iowa man has means of intor-
nation upon which to base his convolutions
OF the brain, but they should be given to
the world as soon as he has made fortune
and reputation upon them. The prophet
i'll question has been kind enough. however,
to say that there are less terrible dangers
imminent to Dakota than to Nebraska and
the other states south Of the territory This
is kind. but the dividing lines of states and
territories are not observed by the weather,
with any degree of awe. The gentleman
goes so far as to get the prices of cereals
out OF his inner consciousness, for he says:
This is to be harvest year for Iowa.
Missouri and Illinois, both in large crops
and good prices" Referring to this part of
the alleged prophecy. the signal officer said:
''BradStreetS ought TO have man like that
on its editorial staff. The man who can
foretell the prices current would be lnvalu-
able to any business house. w 18th such an
thought for the morrow in the matter of
weather. Good prices, plenty of money,
would make the entire populace satisfied
with all sorts of weather."